The 1963/1998 Baptist Faith and Message

A Statement Adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention

On May 9, 1963, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a revised summary of
the Southern Baptist faith. The committee's report says in part:

Baptists emphasize the soul's competency before God, freedom in religion, and
the priesthood of the believer. However, this emphasis should not be interpreted
to mean that there is an absence of certain definite doctrines that Baptists
believe, cherish, and with which they have been and are now closely identified.
It is the purpose of this statement of faith and message to set forth certain
teachings which we believe.

On June 9, 1998, the Southern Baptist Convention added an eighteenth
section, "The Family," to the seventeen sections adopted in 1963. The
complete text of the committees' reports and the entire Baptist Faith and
Message can be found below.